In fly fishing, "skating" a fly across the surface of the water is a way to entice trout to bite, when they are reluctant to bite your fly when it's presented in the normal "dead drift" fashion. Skating or "skittering" a fly isn't nearly as hard as it seems, but there are a few tricks to doing it right!

Steps

1

Tie on a caddis imitation. This may be an "Elk Hair Caddis" which more precisely imitates the caddisfly natural, or a "Stimulator" type fly which is a general attractor pattern that is high-floating and easy to skitter across the water.

2

Position yourself slightly upstream and to the right or left of where you believe the trout are holding in the river or stream. You'll want to be no more than a short cast's length from the spot you think will produce a fish, because the more line you have out the harder the fly is to control when skittering.

3

Make a cast across the creek or stream and allow the fly to float downstream on the opposite side of the stream from where you are standing. You want the fly to reach the end of the cast at a point where the fish are between you and the fly at a downstream angle across the creek.

4

As the fly reaches the end of its drift and your line straightens out, you will want to raise the rod tip to upward toward the sky - but still pointing in the general direction of the fish, or where you think the fish may be holding.

5

As soon as the fly starts to move across the surface of the creek, you should gently shake the rod tip and try to put uniform "waves" into your fly-line. This will translate into the fly skipping and skittering across the surface if done properly. You may have to adjust your movements of the rod tip to match the speed of the current in the water, or the wind or several other factors. Practice will help you master the proper amount of pressure and movement needed in any given situation.

6

As the fly dances across the creek, you should be ready for a trout to launch itself toward the fly. You are not trying to skitter the fly all the way back to your position - but only to skitter it across the creek over waiting fish. Often, the "takes" are violent and occasionally the fish will come completely out of the water chasing the skittered caddis imitation. Skittering imitates a female caddis laying her eggs on the stream. The caddis dips down and does "touch and go" landings, each time depositing eggs into the water. The fish see these caddis as an easy meal about to escape, and will often chase the skittered fly because of instinct, when they are not actively feeding otherwise.

7

If you do not connect with a trout, repeat the steps a few times from the same location. If no trout chase or hit the fly after a few attempts, move downstream by taking two or three steps and repeating the process over a slightly new section of water.

8

If a trout does connect with the fly, there is usually no need to forcefully set the hook - the trout normally hook themselves. So, most of the time you only need to be concerned with being ready for the trout to hit the fly. Then, hold on and play the fish normally until it tires and is ready to be landed.

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Tips

Using a high-quality floatant such as "Dave's Bug Float" or similar will ensure that the fly stays dry for a longer period of time, and will make the fly easier to float downstream and skitter back up and across.

Skittering a fly will not only work on trout, but also on bass and other sunfish when they are active and chasing insects on the surface of a river or lake.

Warnings

Make sure that you have a strong tippet or mono-filament line when using this tactic. Takes are often violent and hard and a tippet smaller than "5X" or one that is damaged or old will break with a large trout or a particularly hard hit.

Things You'll Need

A flyrod, line, leader and tippet.

A caddis fly imitation, such as an Elk Hair Caddis or Stimulator.

An optional landing net for large trout.

A pair of polarized sunglasses, to help you see the fish and to protect your eyes from the fish hook.